Sports Minister Tracey Crouch has appealed for a “unified approach” to tackle doping on the eve of a crucial meeting of the World Anti-Doping Agency in Glasgow.
Wada will discuss how to restore faith in the anti-doping system in the wake of the Russian doping scandal after months of disagreement with the Olympic movement about what reforms are needed.
“The integrity of sport is absolutely paramount and the message has to be clear – that drug cheats will have no place to hide,” said Crouch.
“It is vital that we take a unified approach to tackle doping in sport and work together across countries and continents to ensure best practice in testing, education and intelligence.”
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The meeting of Wada’s Foundation Board – on which Crouch sits as one of five European representatives – comes after tensions between the organisation and the Olympic movement were reignited in Doha this week.
Members of the Associations of National Olympic Committees were highly critical of Wada for recommending that Russia be banned from Rio 2016 for state-sponsored doping.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) rejected the proposal, letting international sports federations decide which athletes should be eligible to compete at the Games.
IOC president Thomas Bach told BBC Sport this week he has “no regrets” over the decision, although did indicate he was ready to increase funding towards anti-doping to tackle “deficiencies”.
Many within the anti-doping community now want Wada to be strengthened, with greater independence from the IOC and granted sanctioning power.
However, the sports movement appears reluctant to hand Wada more authority, with Bach suggesting he wants a new body to take on responsibility for testing.
[Source:-BBC]
